SA Police admit they struggle to respond to critical incidents on time amid staff shortages and recruitment problems

SA Police took six and a half hours to respond to a rural grade one call-out regarding a threat to kill DV incident that they were meant to get to within 15 minutes, it can be revealed.

Police took more than six hours to respond to a call-out from a woman in the state’s Far North after she reported her partner drew a knife and was threatening to kill her.

The incident has highlighted how stretched SA Police are in regional areas due to understaffing and recruitment problems.

The distressed woman from Oodnadatta called emergency services late on a Saturday night in mid-October.

It was considered a “grade one” tasking requiring a 0-15 minute response, but it took police six hours and 31 minutes to arrive.

SA Police have conceded the grade one benchmark is “sometimes impossible to meet”.

A spokesman said that “at the time of the incident, the Oodnadatta member who would normally attend was on annual leave” so requests to other stations were made.

A woman claimed her partner was threatening her with a knife.

Coober Pedy police station is suffering a severe officer shortage. Picture: Supplied

An officer at Coober Pedy – which is 40 per cent below required staff levels – was not immediately available as they had two people in custody to look after and multiple taskings in their patch.

A request for an officer from Marla to attend was denied as they are part of APY Lands staffing and there were concerns about road access.

A few hours later, one Coober Pedy dayshift officer was recalled from time off to monitor the detainees while another officer drove by himself to Oodnadatta.

That officer worked a 15-hour shift and had to stop for a nap on the way back due to fatigue.

Since the initial call-out police had been unable to contact the woman or her family members despite repeated attempts and the task was downgraded to a “check on welfare” as there was no recorded history of domestic violence between the woman and her partner and no further calls from her.

The SA Police spokesman said when the officer arrived at Oodnadatta “no offences were disclosed” and the woman said she had “intentionally declined to answer her telephone”.

“SAPOL has supports and processes in place to manage overtime and fatigue …” the spokesman said.

Police Association of SA president Wade Burns. Picture: Supplied

Police Minister Dan Cregan. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Brenton Edwards

Police Association of SA president Wade Burns said the staffing crisis had built up “slowly, over time, as a result of SA Police and the government either ignoring or being unable to act on repeated warnings”.

Police Minister Dan Cregan said action was being taken including “active recruitment and country-based incentives including accommodation and financial relief”.

Originally published as SA Police admit they struggle to respond to critical incidents on time amid staff shortages and recruitment problems